Article published: Wednesday, July 18th 2012

Artworks protesting against the advertising industry have been pasted over eight billboards across Manchester as part of a subvertising campaign taking place throughout the UK.

A subvertised billboard in London. Art by Manchester artist Polyp

Street artists from a range of countries including Ron English, Broken Fingaz, Know Hope, Banksy collaborator Paul Insect and Manchester’s Polyp contributed artworks for the “brandalist” action which saw 35 takeovers of billboards in Manchester, Leeds, London, Birmingham and Bristol in the weeks before the Olympics.

Activists say they were provoked into the project by Olympic Games organisers’ strict enforcement of corporate brands, and their desire to reclaim public spaces from what they say are the destructive impact of the advertising industry on issues including debt, the environment, self-image and consumerism.

Protesters also said they were acting in response to official findings by the government’s Riots, Communities and Victims Panel, which raised concerns over “the aggressive marketing by brands to young people, who cannot afford their products”.

The panel recommended that parents and schools be provided with better information “about marketing techniques and the way they seek to influence behaviour”.

One subvertiser, Robert Grayson, claimed the public were treated as “lab rats” by marketing executives who “exploit our fears and insecurities through consumerism”. Explaining the action, he said “we’ve taken over these billboards because the advertising industry takes no responsibility for the messages they force-feed us every day.

“They claim to give us choice but we have no choice to ‘opt out’ from these intrusions into our public and personal spaces.”

Culture

A heavy mist suddenly falls on a darkened Manchester hiding from sight unspeakably hideous creatures. Drums can be heard in the distance lulling you into a hypnotic trance, the work of witches and daemons no doubt. Or perhaps Voodoo ring masters, descending onto the city streets armed with psychedelic beats banged out by their armies of musical Goblins possessed with the desire for mischief and fun. It must be that time of year again; it can only be the Illuminaughty Halloween party.

Poetry and science are two things generally not associated with each other, in fact if you joined the two in a word association test you would be one step closer to a chemical cosh and your very own padded cell. However the audience attending the Science Slam at the packed out Nexus Art Cafe Thursday night will never again doubt the validity of the two pursuits being combined; though I can’t rule out they may end up bouncing of the walls of a padded cell at some time in the future.

We were outside Nexus Art Café in the Northern Quarter, queuing, when a car raced up, the driver shoved a woman to the pavement and the performance began. This was the introduction to the character Aggie in A Dream Play by the Déjà Vu Ensemble, daughter of the gods, who has come to our world to learn what it means to be human.